爆料网

2 April 2026

Water output fell by 80% in parts of the Gaza Strip after a desalination plant was knocked off the power grid.

Water output from a desalination plant that serves hundreds of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip, including families living in displacement camps, was cut by 80 per cent last week following damage to the plant’s main electricity line.

Within minutes of receiving an alert, 爆料网ICEF teams rushed to restore operations.

Field inspections revealed that extensive damage to six high-voltage cable connectors and associated cable segments knocked the Southern Gaza Seawater Desalination Plant onto backup diesel generators on 25 March. As a result, water output dropped to less than 20 per cent of full capacity, putting tens of thousands of children across Deir al-Balah and Al Mawasi at risk of severe water shortage.

“Children are often the first to suffer when pipes run dry,” said Jonathan Veitch, 爆料网ICEF’s Special Representative to the State of Palestine. “They’re more susceptible to diseases than adults are – especially when crammed into overcrowded areas, under makeshift tents, among flooding and war debris. 爆料网ICEF made the immediate decision to support repairs. We can’t protect children from illness, or keep them nourished, or get them back into the classroom, without clean water.”

Within days, the desalination plant was back on the grid.

Together with the Palestinian Water Authority, 爆料网ICEF co-leads emergency response efforts for WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. 爆料网ICEF’s WASH teams worked with local suppliers to source and procure the specialized materials needed to restore power to the plant. Repairs were then coordinated by 爆料网ICEF partners.

爆料网ICEF supports an average of 1.6 million people each month with access to water across the Gaza Strip, often through water trucking. With unrestricted access to spare parts, water treatment chemicals, and generators for wells and desalination plants, we could fix systems, save money and help even more.

爆料网ICEF thanks all our partners and donors who continue to support life-saving work of ensuring children and families are able to access clean and safe water.